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Recommended: An essay of beauty
Within The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Sun Also Rises, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway respectively illustrate characters that hold a fascination for their own beauty. Through this essay I will compare and contrast those characters, Dorian Gray and Brett Ashley, and their obsession with their said beauty. Within The Picture of Dorian Gray both Dorian Gray and Lord Henry value youth to extreme extents, and Dorian is able to grasp a sense of eternal youth only to drive himself to his own demise. Brett Ashely on the other hand, uses her beauty to find a powerful identity within a patriarchal society, and at the end of the novel she finds herself cycling back to who she was in the beginning of the novel. While both characters use their beauty to gain power, Ashely is able to avoid the downward spiral that Dorian suffers due to her dependent relationship with Jake Barnes. Within The Picture of Dorian Gray, Basil is incapable of forming any reciprocal relations with Dorian, thus allowing Lord Henry to mold him. Henry plants the seeds for Dorian’s development, but Dorian breaks away from Henry and begins to develop an overzealous form of masculinity that excludes all external relationships. It is due to this disconnect that Dorian is unable to reach the same fruition of his goals as Ashely is. Through their tales both Dorian and Ashely developed into strong idealized figures of beauty, but only Brett is capable of maintaining her mentality.
Dorian Gray loses his eternal youth due to his disconnect with the world, but to realize this disconnect the reader must first examine the context for his connections to Basil Hallward and Lord Henry. Nikolai Enders examines these relationships within his article, “Platonic Love and Closet Eros in...
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...h the society around him and begins to connect only with the portrait that hangs within his home. Dorian begins to defy the natural aging process of nature and thus disconnects himself from nature as a whole. As Pappas states, “men are an integral part of nature and that their…denying there real relationship to it can be calamitous, can lead to their reduction to a purely animal state of existence and to the most squalid sort of extinction” (46). At the end of the novel Dorian finally breaks out of this cycle and is forced to accept his connection with nature through his own death. When Dorian stabs the portrait in an attempt to break away from the all-consuming relationship that drove him away from nature, he is finally able to absorb the aging and process of nature that he so adamantly denied through the novel. As Dorian re-embraces nature he meets his own demise.
After many years of seeing the picture that was once perfect decay and become hideous, he is eventually driven mad. Just before murdering him, Dorian expresses to Basil, “I was wrong. It has destroyed me.” (Wilde, Pg. 204). By the end of the book The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde’s writing gives Dorian a certain conviction that is commonly known as a “come to Jesus” moment. However, this conviction ultimately drives Dorian to destroy the picture which ends in his own death.
Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises is an interesting piece of literature that has been analyzed and reviewed by many scholars throughout the years. Something that is often brought to attention are the gender roles. In The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway makes a stronger woman and a more feminine man, this is something that had not yet been seen in literature. A few authors had made female and male characters in their novels that were different than the norm, but none to the extreme of Hemmingway. In Hemingway’s novel, his female character, Brett, does not care about obeying the societal gender role set forth for her during the time period she lives.
In the beginning of the book, Dorian seems to be an innocent, charming, beautiful young man, and even referred to as “a wonderful creation” (ch 2). Dorian is described as this amazing person, with looks comparable to a God, charm that could swoon any woman, and a mesmerizing persona about him with the ability to draw anyone near, yet he seems to be so imperceptive to himself. His attitude of simplicity causes readers to be fond of him, passing their first judgments that he could not possibly be evil. As the story moves along readers see the first inkling that Dorian may not be so perfect. Dorian comments on “how sad it is…[that he] shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But the picture will remain always young” (ch 2). This statement lets readers inside Dorian’s thoughts, showing how shallow and frivolous Dorian views life to be. He places so much value and esteem on looks alone, forgetting that being painted should be an honor, or at the very least...
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is a novel written by Oscar Wilde. The story takes place in England, where the artist Basil Hallward paints a portrait of the young and beautiful Dorian Gray. During his stay at the artist’s studio, he gets introduced to Lord Henry who later becomes one of the most influential people in his life. Dorian Gray becomes aware of his amazing beauty and youthfulness due to the portrait and wishes that the portrait ages instead of him. His wish comes true, Dorian remains beautiful and youthful while the portrait changes. Lord Henry becomes his best friend and motivates him to live in abundance, to sin and always strive for beauty. After a while, Dorian discovers that his portrait doesn’t only age, but also changes face expression as a result of all his sins and evil deeds. Dorian gets anxious by the fact that the portrait shows his evil soul and is scared that somebody will see it, therefore he hides it. The portrait haunts Dorian although it’s hidden. As Dorian’s sins gets worse, he feels that he can’t handle the pressure anymore and decides to destroy the portrait that shows his true self.
In earlier drafts of Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway opens with the words: “This is a novel about a lady. Her name is Lady Ashley and when the story begins she is living in Paris and it is Spring.” Though this exposition was later cut from the novel at the suggestion of F. Scott Fitzgerald—one of Hemingway’s contemporaries—nevertheless it still serves to reveal the objective center around which The Sun Also Rises revolves. As an enigmatic amalgamation of feminine charm, unapologetic androgyny, and sexual promiscuity, Brett captivates the attention of all the other characters of the novel—be it Jake Barnes or Mike Campbell or even Pedro Romero—as she attempts to find individual freedom in a society altered by the general disillusionment and psychological malaise after World War I. Though much critical attention has focused upon Brett’s licentiousness and the resulting Victorian ideals that she violates, surely Brett transcends both the sexual function her critics limit her to and the Victorian values they hold her up against. Indeed, Brett’s loose and meaningless romances play an important allegorical role in representing the broader shattered unity and inconsistencies of the modern world—the world of the Lost Generation.
Although Wilde halts short of stating that Basil and Lord Henry have sexual feelings for Dorian , the language he uses to describe their devotion for Dorian is unmistakably the language of deep, romantic intimacy. “Tell me more about Mr. Dorian Gray. How often do you see him?”. “Every day. I couldn’t be happy if I didn’t see him everyday. He is absolutely necessary to me”. This common motif of homoerotic bonds between men plays a large role in structuring the novel. Basils painting is born from his adoration of Dorians beauty , comparatively Lord Henry is overcome with desire to seduce Dorian. This sense of camaraderie between men fits into Wildes aesthetic values, for it returns him to his past where the philosophy of beauty was not only the basis of society but fundamental to culture. As a homosexual living in an intolerant society, Wilde asserted this philosophy in order to justify his own lifestyle.
The novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde shows the life of three men who are affected by art in the Victorian society. In Victorian times men were expected to provide for himself and his family, accumulate wealth, exemplify good morals and prove his masculinity. If a man did not show one of these qualities in the Victorian time his masculinity would be questioned. In the novel these men show three different sides to masculinity. Each character finds himself unhappy with the role he is forced to play in order to prove his masculinity. For them it seems in order to be successful or achieve happiness they must push past the gender roles society has placed on them. Basil Hallward represents the artist, Dorian
He becomes an echo of someone else’s music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him. The aim of life is self-development. ”(Wilde 13). The words of an honored role model can easily persuade even the purest of hearts into the darkness of crime and evil, such as Dorian Gray. At this moment, Gray falls victim to the flourishing words of Lord Henry, who manipulates Gray from a timid and shining boy to nothing but a shallow man who commits capital crimes to conceal his secret.
Wilde, Oscar, and Michael Patrick. Gillespie. The Picture of Dorian Gray: Authoritative Texts, Backgrounds, Reviews and Reactions, Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2007. Print.
The novel, The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway is an example of how an entire generation redefined gender roles after being affected by the war. The Lost Generation of the 1920’s underwent a great significance of change that not only affected their behaviors and appearances but also how they perceived gender identity. Lady Brett Ashley and Jake Barnes are two of the many characters in the novel that experience shattered gender roles because of the post war era. The characters in the novel live a lifestyle in which drugs and alcohol are used to shadow emotions and ideals of romanticism. Brett’s lack of emotional connection to her various lovers oppose Jake’s true love for her which reveals role reversal in gender and the redefinition of masculinity and femininity. The man is usually the one that is more emotionally detached but in this case Lady Brett Ashley has a masculine quality where as Jake has a feminine quality. Both men and female characters in the novel do not necessarily fit their gender roles in society due to the post war time period and their constant partying and drinking. By analyzing Brett, Jake, and the affects the war had on gender the reader obtains a more axiomatic understanding of how gender functions in the story by examining gender role reversal and homosexuality.
In Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, beauty is depicted as the driving force in the lives of the three main characters, Dorian, Basil and Lord Henry. Dorian, the main character, believes in seizing the day. Basil, the artist, admires all that is beautiful in life. Lord Henry, accredited ones physical appearance to the ability of achieving accomplishments in life. Beauty ordains the fate of Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry. The novel embodies the relationship of beauty and morality. Beauty is not based on how attractive an object is to everyone, but how attractive it is to one.
The picture of Dorian Gray. The Electronic Classics Series, The Pennsylvania State University. p. 3/ Retrieved January 3, 2014 from http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/oscar-wilde/dorian-gray.pdf
After a thorough reading and in-depth analyzation of Ernest Hemingway's riveting novel The Sun Also Rises, the character of Brett Ashley may be seen in a number of different ways. While some critics such as Mimi Reisel Gladstein view Brett as a 'Circe'; or 'bitch-goddess,'; others such as Carol H. Smith see Brett as a woman who has been emotionally broken by the world around her. I tend to agree with the latter of these views, simply because of the many tragedies that befell Brett. She is a heroine who, despite being wounded by love and war, continues to pursue true love.
In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde compiles a deadly combination of narcissistic and vain qualities into the title character, Dorian Gray. In a similar manner, John William Waterhouse depicts the aptly-named Narcissus as obsessed with his reflection in his painting Echo and Narcissus. These two characters may come from different places and different eras, but their mental and emotional similarities are striking. Captivated with the idea of being young forever, Dorian Gray falls in love with himself, leaving the woman who loves him behind just as Narcissus did to Echo.
In analyzing Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, concepts such as influence and the origin of evil in Dorian Gray play an exceptionally valuable role in understanding the motives of the characters. Although some critics argue characters such as Lord Kelso significantly influence Dorian’s corruption, Lord Henry Wotton’s toxic personality undeniably impacts Dorian the most. Throughout the course of the novel, Lord Henry remains the ultimate source of evil and uses deception and persuasion to poison Dorian from a naïve boy to a destructive monster.